Challenge 918

You Don’t Say

1. In Rebecca Johnson’s The Battle:

   1. Have others in Kerri’s company been waylaid by Darren or the Ageless One?
   2. Mahasani appears to lead a considerable company of archers and drummers. Who are they, and where are they stationed?
   3. Bonus question: What connection, if any, might the story have with the films Alone and Skinwalker?

2. In Gabriel S. de Anda’s Castles in the Sky:

   1. What is a “mimicant,” exactly?
   2. Who is Gael?
   3. Is it possible for any narrator to question his own existence without contradicting himself?

3. In Ginny Hogan’s The Cessation, the premise is that the excretion of urine suddenly ceases in human beings:

   1. Does any kind of animal not excrete urine? If so, what new form must human beings take overnight?
   2. Does the “Cessation” really have a function in the story? If it were omitted, would anything else be affected substantially?
   3. How does the narrator feel about her son? How would you characterize her personality?

4. In Oonah V. Joslin’s Queen o’ Glum, the line “’ll dae that tae a body, right enough” begins with a contraction of “it will” that results in a syllabic /l/. In English, syllabic /l/ occurs only in syllable-final position, e.g. “table.” The combination /ld/ occurs only in final or medial position and is always preceded by a vowel, e.g. “fold,” “folded.” In an oral rendition, what vowel would you insert in order to be able to pronounce the verse quoted?

Responses welcome!

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